Never the Twain Shall Meet

We will never meet Mark Twain ( the pen name of Samuel Clemens), but standing in his home, surrounded by possessions that were his, a glimpse. Reading his works penned in the third story "man cave", I know more. Reading what a few of our American Presidents had to say about Mark Twain, yet another piece. Mark Twain was a storyteller!  Our guide related about his stories at dinner parties, I felt at home.

This recent visit was a warm late summer day and I could imagine Twain at his desk writing and growing drowsy. The guide told us a hammock once hung on the third floor porch so he could nap out there. It is in among the tree tops and so resembled a tree house. From there the views were of the carriage house, the Park River (now underground), Harriet Beecher Stowe's house, and the greenhouse that supplied table flowers year round.

As I stood on the porch I tried to imagine the family here. One could easily imagine children playing
here even on a rainy day. Their voices drifting up to their father far above them in the hammock or at his desk. I could almost hear the crunch of the gravel as a carriage bearing guests could have come up the drive way and paused under the portico for them to disembark.

The Clemens family kept some ducks who had this view of the house from down near the river and marsh. Today cars park where they once swam, but it is not hard to imagine on a warm summer afternoon.

A unique example of Victorian architecture from top to bottom, the Twain/Clemens home was state of the art when built and yet designed for the family to enjoy. A favorite feature of mine is the curved butlers pantry that connects the service wing to the main house. Only the butler had access, it was his little kingdom. China and silver services were kept here and  he served the meals from this space.

Here are a few more pictures from my most recent visit:

                                                        details details everywhere!

 

a slate roof

                              Glass conservatory off the family library complete with fountain!

 In Connecticut or coming to Connecticut here is the link to the Twain Visitor Center:
                                                   http://www.marktwainhouse.org/

         His boyhood home in Missouri is a museum as well: http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/

Mark Twain, many of his quotes you will recognize even if you did not know they were from him.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Mark Twain

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html#0kcolVxTHv7LwrYK.99

Education In Cubes - Not Just Child's Play

                                                                           

The nine dice rolled across the table top and the students clustered to look at the outcome.  Excited voices called out the images that landed face up on the special dice of the game Rory’s Story Cubes www.storycubes.com .  Laughter and groans ensued as each player recognized their challenge of incorporating the image into a group story. “once upon a time…” the players began to weave a tale. On the next round I added a challenge make it all on one theme or subject. We tried subjects familiar to their curriculum and it provided a much higher level of gamesmanship. On this particular morning I was trying out Rory’s Story Cubes in a high school Agricultural Mechanics class. I began my test with one cooperative student and soon had a large group clustered around.

                                                                 

Looking for ways to add the curriculum to story cube fun I began challenges to the student players. We did a round using vocabulary words. Students in foreign language played a round telling the story in the language they are learning. Theme telling as recommended on the package was incorporated into curricular support choosing a topic from the lesson plan. The next roll the story must incorporate small engine repair for my agricultural mechanics group. Students returned to me later in the day during a free period with the request to play the game, that to me was the best review, the approval of this group of high school students.

 Simplicity of the game allowed quick understanding of the skill required while also challenging the students to new levels. This was very evident through its popularity within the Special Education setting. The game was used in curriculum support again and was a popular reward for work completion.

Teachable moments occurred when working with younger students. These came from some of the iconic images. A roll of the dice producing a Pyramid image allowed us to look quickly at the computer to see pictures from the pyramids at Giza. With this more in depth look and quick lesson on the early culture in Egypt  the students quickly incorporated the new found knowledge into the game.

                                                         

As a generational counterpoint I played the game with a group of nursing home patients and found it brought out delightful interplay and stimulated memories and conversation. The residents varied backgrounds made for an intellectual story with moments of whimsy. I thought it an excellent game for mental stimulation and recall desired for early stage dementia patients.

American author and humorist Mark Twain played a similar game with his family each evening at his home Nook Farm in Hartford Connecticut. www.marktwainhouse.org  Once the family assembled in their library room he was to invent a tale incorporating all seven items on the fireplace mantel into a new and different tale than any he had told on previous nights.  Click this link to see the Twain House mantel and story items:

www.marktwainhouse.org/admin/assets/images/photo_gallery/1274956228-image-2.jpg  

Rory O’Connor and Anita Murphy of Belfast, Ireland have come up with a flexible game that recreates the skills of the Irish storytellers –The Senachai.  The product Rory’s Story Cubes have garnered more than a half dozen toy/game awards. This list includes the 2011 Best Game Award from the Independent Toy Awards – Toy Shop UK. This award was based on independent retailers experience and recommendations. One student suggested playing in an Irish accent after reading my printout from the Rory's Storycube website.

Since the games inception additions have come to the playing field. There are max sized story cubes and a story cube app for iphones.  An expansion set brings a diverse set of verb cubes to provide more story action to the game.  You can follow all the updates from Rory’s Story Cubes on Facebook, Twitter @storycubes  and on you-tube and again on their website www.storycubes.com  

Other reviews in my blog include

Mike Lockett www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-tales-from-hills-by-mike-lockett.html  

Dementia Patient blog: www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/09/journey-of-thousand-goodbyes.html